back pack hunting spring black bear need some help

[b.c hunter 88]

hey everyone
hope you all had a great holiday
ok I'm watching the hunting channel on TV they did a back pack hunt for spring bear.
I'm thinking I'm going to try for a mountain goat again this year 2013
maybe i should try a back pack hunt for my spring bear.
does any one do this I'm looking for a list of stuff ill need as well as any other helpful info.
i finger i got 3 months before it starts if i start prepping now ill be ready in April may.
things i need to invest in
good pack like a frame one I'm thinking
optics I'm lost hear by no means can i afford 3 grand I'm looking for something cheap it will be used on mountain goat hunt as well
tents something light

[Gateholio]

To be honest, there is no real reason to go on a real "backpack" hunt for spring bear unless you want to. Oh, you may backpack the bear a bit back to the truck, but that's not really a goat hunt. I've never given much thought to setting off with a backpack for a few days to hunt bears. I have spotted one from the road and hiked up with a pack and shot one and packed it out though. But I never slept overnight. :)

[BiG Boar]

Sure back packing might yield a bigger older bear that hasn't been hunted. I say to go for it. But the easy way to hunt bears is road hunting. They eat grass, and the majority of that is on the sides of the roads. If you pack out a small bear, that wouldn't be smart in my opinion, so make it a big one. Find somewhere remote and go for it. Some alpine areas will have 10 bears per mountain in the spring. Black bears to make the all time book is incredibly hard. I say just make sure you hold out.

[seymourpats1]

I agree with Gatehouse, no need to backpack, just glassing clear cuts from roads or trails works well. If you want exercise id find some larger clear cuts and hike in from the back of them, you will see the ones the road hunters don't, good luck. And do it if you think it would be fun.

[boxhitch]

Its just going to be another exercise in backpacking , so the standard gear for any over nighter fits the need
Add what you need for hunting and caring for meat and trophy if you take it , standard list for any species

Then when you are tired of packing it around the hill , throw it back in the truck and drive the roads like other bear hunters :)

[BCKyle]

way i see it your question's not so much about the bear as the approach to hunting. Trophy bear or not, a backpack hunt will give you good insight into whatever gear you have. I am new to hunting and have never done an overnight hunt that wasn't based out of my jeep... but I have done lots of backpacking and camping. And as far as that stuff goes you will feel way more prepared if you do a couple practice runs. Plus you'll really notice the gaps in the gear you have, or maybe pick out the stuff that seems like a good idea in the store but then never sees use and just adds weight.
Just my two cents. It'll be fun one way or the other!
Good luck. I'm looking forward to hunting down my first spring bear this year too!

[seymourpats1]

Well said Kyle, that's good advice. Success hunting bear is fairly high so it should be rewarding in experience and some good pepperoni

[Gateholio]

Nothing wrong with doing practice runs, and you can do some scouting for early season deer, too. But I don't see too many bears in the high country in spring, mostly because of snow and lack of food, they all seem to head down. Although getting just below the snow line can be very productive, but again, when I see that, it's via spotting scope then hike for them. And there is no way I am going to shoot a small bear and pack it out :)

A few years ago PG66 and I were hunting deer in Novemebr, and we saw a pretty nice bear, but nothing special. It was about 2 hours to pack it out, and I had a bear tag, but no way was I going to shoot it since it wasn't a MONSTER. If it had been a giant, we would have been slicing and dicing. :)

[hunter1947]

I agree with others that say no need for a back pack hunt for bears there are enough bears near surrounding roads and can be record book bears ,,I know I have seen big bears and filmed them near roads some right on the logging roads.

As for goats by all means do a back pack trip stay a few nights to get what you are looking for...

[jtred]

There may be no need for going on a backpack hunt for spring bear but I'm sure it would be a blast and if you found a bear to your liking it would definitely add up to a great adventure. I say go for it; give your gear and yourself a good test. It is always nice to be away from the roads back in the mountains. When I plan each trip I try to combine many elements, of course hunting, but also scenery(nice to see new country), good hiking, fishing(always have a telescopic rod and small tackle box for our hidden mountain lakes), and to just get away from where everybody else is. The places that you can get to with as little as a 1-2hr hike will blow your mind. This past season myself and a good friend found that right from our doorstep we could drive an hour then hike 1-2hrs and be in alpine heaven(we live in 4-06 so by living in the heart of the Kootenays we're already in paradise). I definitely will be heading out to these same places or others like them in the coming season looking for a mule deer. Go for it you definitely won't regret getting into the backcountry. If nothing else you'll have seen new country, done some scouting, got lots of exercise, and given your gear a good going over.

[oclarkii]

When I was more enthusiastic about bear hunting we used to use cross country skiis to access valleys we otherwise couldn't - the roads of course are blocked by slides lower down, but farther up the slides are down too. Its a great way to cover ground and we got into some awesome bears that way. Packed the bivies and stayed overnight a few times, it was great. Sure you can shoot a bear from your truck easily enough, but if you want to try an overnighter give er. Like jtred said, you won't regret getting into the backcountry - not sure that's even possible.

[schilly101]

When I was more enthusiastic about bear hunting we used to use cross country skiis to access valleys we otherwise couldn't - the roads of course are blocked by slides lower down, but farther up the slides are down too. Its a great way to cover ground and we got into some awesome bears that way. Packed the bivies and stayed overnight a few times, it was great. Sure you can shoot a bear from your truck easily enough, but if you want to try an overnighter give er. Like jtred said, you won't regret getting into the backcountry - not sure that's even possible.

This guy hits the nail..
Find a road closed to hunting with motorised vehicles with lots of slides that come right to or across the road. lots of places here in bc like this! throw a pack on and go find a good place to set up camp and glass the slides. Use hunting regs to find road closers and google earth to find the valleys and slides.

[Ron.C]

I say backpack bear hunting is a hell of a way to trial gear for your goat hunt, but a big boar is allot bigger then a billy goat. Just keep that in mind and keep zero meat spoilage as a priority and enjoy your hunt.

[b.c hunter 88]

thanks everyone
i have hunted 4 bears by road hunting its fun i just wanted to try something els this year.
I'm goat hunting in Oct so i was thinking the bear hunt would be good practice.
most people road hunt around hear but I'm not most to if it seems like a challenge i wanna try it
I'm more interested in what gear everyone suggest to buy

[rides bike to work]

Search some of the sheep hunting threads for a list of equipment there is a tone of info on here.

Head out late in the spring bear season to access high country as the snow is still low early season.

Bring some snow shoes and be very care full of creeks flowing hidden under snow. I fell through one last spring over my head luckily my buddy was there to help pull me out .

You can road hunt for goats in October I watched it on The Hunting Chronicals I think they were near Kaslo they got a nice muley to.

[NovemberBravo]

way i see it your question's not so much about the bear as the approach to hunting. Trophy bear or not, a backpack hunt will give you good insight into whatever gear you have. I am new to hunting and have never done an overnight hunt that wasn't based out of my jeep... but I have done lots of backpacking and camping. And as far as that stuff goes you will feel way more prepared if you do a couple practice runs. Plus you'll really notice the gaps in the gear you have, or maybe pick out the stuff that seems like a good idea in the store but then never sees use and just adds weight.
Just my two cents. It'll be fun one way or the other!
Good luck. I'm looking forward to hunting down my first spring bear this year too!

Good advise. It's funny I read your post and almost thought I wrote it. I am also new to hunting but have done lots of backpacking and camping. All my overnight hunts have been out of a rhino or a truck.
I am also looking for a spring bear but that will be with the bow (can't shoot a gun), any advise?

B.C. Hunter, for the backpacking side of things pack for rain and pack light. Sitka has some good gear but it is a bit pricey, I have the stormfront lite pants and jacket and I love them. They are very light and pack very small. Check out camofire.com the sitka gear sometimes shows up there. You will notice that your pack seems much heavier after a kilometre or 2. For optics I would look into binos because even though they are a bit less pricey than spotting scopes and you can still get some nice ones. Tent wise I would look at the stevesons warm lite. Again a little pricey but very light and easy to put up. I would check craigslist for that even though it might be a bit hard to find the deal would be worth it.

NB

[Camp Cook]

Check out KUIU from what I understand this is the original owner of Sitka.

I just bought their Chugach rain pants testing them out now I have to say I am impressed so far priced @ $250 compared to Sitka's Stormfront pant @ $400 I couldn't pass on them.

Main difference I see is there are no pockets in the Chugach rain pants which could be good.